UBC This Week

Two members of the UBC community are among the 57 new appointments to the Order of Canada, one of Canada’s highest civilian honours.

Larry Goldenberg, named as a Member of the Order of Canada, is a professor and head of the Dept. of Urologic Sciences.  He established the world-renowned Vancouver Prostate Centre, and took the Division of Urology to departmental status in 2006.   Goldenberg is honoured for his contributions to prostate cancer research and treatment, and for promoting awareness of the disease.

Developer and UBC alumnus and donor Michael Audain was named as an Officer of the Order of Canada for contributions to the visual arts in Canada. Audain, the Chairman of B.C.’s Polygon Homes Ltd., is also the founder and Chair of the Audain Foundation, which supports the visual arts and cultural initiatives in B.C.

For more information, visit http://www.gg.ca/document.aspx?id=13469

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UBC astronomer and post-doctoral fellow Gaelen Marsden has produced the most detailed images of deep space from 12 billion years ago, using data from the European Space Agency’s Herschel Space Observatory.

Recently presented at the first International Herschel Science Meeting in Madrid, Spain, the images by Marsden reveal tens of thousands of newly discovered galaxies at the early stages of formation – just one billion years after the Big Bang, when the Universe was a thriving nursery of newly-formed stars.

“These images allow us to see 10 times more galaxies than ever before and with stunning clarity,” says Marsden, who has spent the past few years working on similar but lower-resolution images from previously collected data.

The images are available at www.phas.ubc.ca/~halpern/hermes/

For more information, visit www.science.ubc.ca/news/340

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UBC Clinical Professor of Paediatrics Dr. Robert Peterson has been appointed Executive Director, Drug Safety and Effectiveness Network (DSEN), effective Jan. 4, 2010.

DSEN will respond to decision-makers’ drug safety and effectiveness information needs and increase capacity within Canada to undertake high-quality research in this area. New evidence generated via the Network will inform decision-making about the regulation, public reimbursement, and safe and optimal prescribing and use of drugs within the Canadian health care system.

Peterson has been Director of the Section of Paediatric Clinical Pharmacology at the University of Colorado, Professor of Paediatrics and Pharmacology and Chairman of the Dept. of Paediatrics at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine, and Director of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute.

He has also served as the Director General of the Therapeutic Products Directorate at Health Canada from 2000 to 2005, before returning to UBC as Clinical Professor of Paediatrics and Senior Associate Clinician Scientist at the Child and Family Research Institute at BC Children’s Hospital.  He was appointed to the Canadian Expert Drug Advisory Committee in 2005 and assumed the role of Chair in 2008.

Peterson is also a member of the World Health Organization’s Expert Advisory Panel on Drug Evaluation, and Chairman of the Regulations Advisory Board of the Centre for Medicines Research, International Institute for Regulatory Science.

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Dr. Patricia Marchak, Dean of Arts at UBC from 1990 to 1996, passed away on Jan. 1.  Prior to becoming Dean, Marchak was the Head of the Dept. of Anthropology and Sociology.  At UBC, she received her Bachelor of Arts in1958, her PhD in 1970, and joined the faculty in 1973.  During her early years at UBC, she was a journalist for the Ubyssey newspaper and a secretary to President Norman MacKenzie.  More recently, Marchak served as faculty associate with the Institute for Resources and Environment, and as a Distinguished Scholar at the Peter Wall Institute of Distinguished Studies.

Marchak was a past president of the Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, served on the B.C. Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee, and on the boards of the Open Learning Institute and the University Hospital.  She was elected to Fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada and served as chair of the B.C. Buildings Corporation.  She has authored numerous books and articles on political ideology, economic development, resources industries and the social context of ecological issues.

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The IEEE, the world’s leading professional association for the advancement of technology, has recognized two UBC electrical and computer engineering professors.

Dr. Vijay Bhargava has won the 2010 Outstanding Educator Award from IEEE Canada “for exemplary teaching, curriculum development and lifelong dedication to students.” An IEEE volunteer for 30 years, this is the 14th honour that the IEEE has given Bhargava.

Dr. Robert Schober has been elected Fellow of the IEEE effective Jan. 1 for his contributions to wireless communications. Schober holds a Canada Research Chair in Wireless Communication with a broad research goal of improving the speed and quality of wireless communication and enabling communication anytime and anywhere. Applications of his research include mobile communication systems, high-speed internet access, personal area networks and sensor networks. His algorithm on interference suppression has been commercialized and implemented in millions of GSM mobile phones.

For more information, visit http://www.engineering.ubc.ca/news/2010/jan6.html

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The Vancouver Aquarium has awarded UBC zoology professor John Ford with a Murray A. Newman award for excellence in aquatic science and conservation.  Ford is cetacean research program head at the Pacific Biological Station.

For more information, visit http://www.zoology.ubc.ca/person/ford.

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Third-year civil engineering co-op student Max Cronk has been awarded a $2,000 scholarship in Glotman Simpson’s name awarded by the Steel Joist Institute. The Steel Joist Institute’s 2009 Design Awards provide winners with a $2,000 scholarship in their company’s name; Glotman Simpson received the SJI 2009 Design Award for the Vancouver Convention Centre expansion.

For more information, visit http://www.engineering.ubc.ca/news/2009/dec8.html

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A public open house will be held to view and comment on a development proposal for a new seven storey student residence at the northwest corner of West Mall and Thunderbird Boulevard.  Approximately 180,000 square feet of floor space and 530 units are proposed within two buildings.

The applicants, project architects and UBC staff will be available to describe the project and answer questions.

Date:  Jan. 12
Time: 4 – 6 p.m.
Place: Commons Block Totem Residence, 2525 West Mall
Info: www.planning.ubc.ca

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To celebrate the completion of the Museum of Anthropology (MOA) expansion and renewal project,  the Museum and Douglas & McIntyre will release a new publication highlighting the MOA’s  international collections and its Arthur Erickson-designed building.

The volume is edited by Carol E. Mayer and Anthony A. Shelton.  Mayer is the head of the curatorial department at the MOA and an associate to UBC’s Dept. of Anthropology. Inter¬nationally known for her work as a museum curator, she has published widely on museum-related topics, curated more than 40 exhibitions, and received numerous international awards and fellowships.

Shelton is the director of the MOA and a leading scholar in museology, cultural criticism, and the anthropology of art and aesthetics.  He has taught in several  European universities, and curated exhibitions for the British Museum,  Brighton’s Royal Pavilion, and London’s Horniman Museum.  

The Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia is available for purchase at the MOA shop and local and online bookstores.

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UBC had a strong showing in Business in Vancouver’s annual “Forty under 40” awards, with 11 alumni and professors recognized by the magazine for their achievements in business.

They include: Gina Arses (Klein Systems Group Ltd; B.Comm), Chris Bennett (David LLP; LLB), Jacqueline Griffiths (British Columbia Public School Employers’ Association; B.Comm), Paul Haagenson (Live Nation Canada; B.Comm), Carlo De Mello (KPMG LLP; B.Comm), Brian Kwon (Orthopaedic surgeon, VGH; PhD in neuroscience and orthopaedics), Brian Smith (Building Opportunities with Business; MA, Planning), Jeffrey Guise (CC&L Private Capital, BA); Jason McLean (McLean Group of Companies; LLB).

Also featured were Prof. James Tansey, co-founder of Offsetters Clean Technology Inc., as well as alumnus and Assoc. Prof. David Granville, founder and CSO of vIDA Therapeutics Inc.

For more information, visit http://www.biv.com/40under40/2009.asp

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On Feb. 11, UBC will be hosting the Olympic Torch Relay. To celebrate, the UBC 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Secretariat and UBC REC are planning a Night Market/Winter Carnival-inspired event at the Old Bus Loop (corner of University Blvd and East Mall) between 4 and 8 p.m.

Campus groups are invited to host an activity or booth at the celebration.  Applications can be found at http://www.webcommunications.ubc.ca/ubc2010/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Torch-Relay-Booth-or-Activity-Application-Final.doc  and submitted to Michelle Cheong at mcmanus@rec.ubc.ca by Jan. 15.

Booths or activities must:
• Be run by groups affiliated with UBC (Faculties, Departments, Units, Student clubs or societies, athletic teams, etc). Booths must be staffed by your group at all times.
• Be interactive (i.e. Varsity Hockey Team to host 3 on 3 hockey tournament, Faculty of Arts to create giant mural to be signed by students at event and sent to athletes, ski and snowboard team to host rail jam display).
• Be proposed via the application no later than Jan. 15.

Booths or activities cannot:
• Be selling any items, including good, services, food, alcohol or any other beverage
• Display any kind of Olympic markings, including the Olympic Rings, VANOC logos
• Be sponsored by a corporation or business

At this time, there is no size restriction on booth or activity size. The UBC 2010 Olympic & Paralympic Secretariat and UBC REC will review all applications against the event footprint and create a detailed site map. Tents, tables and chairs will be provided where appropriate.

Groups will be informed of their participation and specific set-up location before the event.  The  torch route will be not be released until closer to the event date of Feb. 11.

For inquiries, contact Michelle Cheong at mcmanus@rec.ubc.ca.

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